


You, Who Opened My Eyes

by akihito_kanburrito



Series: Ship/Character Days/Weeks [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Zervel, Zervel Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:36:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7077226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akihito_kanburrito/pseuds/akihito_kanburrito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I was scared of the dark, but it was all that I'd known,</p><p>          then you showed me the light, and it felt like home."</p>
            </blockquote>





	You, Who Opened My Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi and hello there! Basically, I had this idea whilst fading between sleep and consciousness, so I started writing it, but never had the motivation to finish it until I saw that Zervel Day was a thing! I saw it literally just yesterday and immediately freaked out because I had NO IDEA!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment if you do!

[INVEL]

Throughout the day, I would bumble through the crammed streets of the town, stammering out constant words of apology to the other villagers as I collided with them. Although I couldn't see them, the intense burn of their glares scorched holes into my body. I would collapse onto my hands and knees, scrambling around in desperation, feeling around hopelessly, just to find the things that I'd knocked onto the ground in my blind stupor.

"Gah, just get out the way, kid," They would grumble, shoving me over with a sandal-clad foot. "You're only making things worse." I would nod my head, pick myself up and scurry away as quick as my legs could carry me. My lower lip would quiver, and liquid would well up in my eyes, but I wouldn't cry - crying would only make things worse. It was a sin for a male to cry, and my very existence was sinful enough, it seemed.

Children that lacked any basic ability were, by default, a sin. An error in our utopia. And so, my impaired eyesight was something that I should have just ignored. I should've just pretended that it was okay; that I was alright. However, I was stupid.

As soon as I had told my parents that everything in sight was dark and blurred, I felt my mother's tender grip on me turn rigid. Her nails dug deep into my arms, and I could've sworn that she drew blood, but I didn't complain. She was worried, what kind of parent wouldn't be, if they found out that their child was so repugnant? I knew that I'd done something wrong, that it was my fault. Once a minute or so of silence had passed, she sent me out of the room, and I heard her talking to my father in a hushed tone. Then, they were yelling and father's booming voice filled the house. In that moment, I wished that my hearing would also turn dark and blurred. Of course, that didn't happen - the wishes of a sinful child could never be granted.

When what felt like an eternity of yelling and shrieking ended, I uncurled from the tight ball that I had subconsciously folded myself into. The door that I leant against was yanked open harshly, and my thin body collapsed onto the ground. A large, heavy foot stamped down on the ends of my shoulder-length hair, and a yelp of pain threatened to escape through the confines of my thin lips, but I didn't let it. Judging by the foot size, it was my father. With a grunt of annoyance sounding from above where I lay, I was proven correct. Father let his foot hold me down for a few seconds, before striding out of the house with an air of bitterness surrounding him.

I don't think she could tell, but I knew that mother was crying. It only took a whimper and a sniffle or two for me to realise, and I wished that I could run to comfort her. However, there was nothing I could do. Everything about my feeble existence caused her pain and only pain, yet she still never seemed resentful towards me. 

I always wished that I could be like my mother. Kind, patient, observant and, according to the blacksmith who lived a few houses away from us, beautiful. Despite that, I was pathetic, selfish, and most certainly not attractive in the slightest. I knew that without even being able to see my own reflection. All around me, the townspeople hissed about my disgusting contrast of stark white hair and blood red eyes. My health was never what it should have been, so I was nothing more than translucent skin and bone.

The girls who wore long, soft dresses and played with the small daisies in the fields were scared of me. Whenever mother and I passed them, they would scuttle away, and mother would hang onto my hand just a little bit tighter. I was never certain which of us she was trying to reassure.

Mother's weeping ended not long after it had begun. I could hear her sniffing, and knew that she was most likely wiping her eyes with the hem of her apron. It was a habit of hers, and she always wiped my face with it whenever she attempted to make me look presentable.

"Come on, Invel," She beckoned weakly, and I trotted obediently to her side, where I clasped onto her hand. "We'll go for a walk."

And that walk was likely one of the most peaceful times of my life. Mother lead me to the forest, and we simply talked to one another. When the music in the town centre began to play, we rose from our seated positions and danced together, hands joined and smiles on our faces. When the smell of the smoke from the town's monthly bonfire reached our noses, we just sat closer together to keep each other warm. When the singing wore into cheering and when the cheering then faded away, my mother wrapped her arm around me, gently and unassumingly.

"Invel?" She asked, and I tilted my head up in her direction to show that I was listening. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" After only thinking for a second, my mouth moved by itself and I couldn't stop the words that tumbled from my lips.

"I want to be someone better than me." 

My voice was toned down, yet just loud enough for mother to hear. This time, I heard a gasp, and then my mother didn't attempt to hide her tears from me. They rolled from her cheeks and onto my hair, whilst her thin arms wrapped around me tightly, her comforting smell enveloping me in its warm essence. I could feel tears beginning to gloss over my own eyes, but the feeling of my mother's damp cheek pressed against mine kept them from falling.

Many minutes passed before another word was spoken, but neither of us moved. "You're already good enough, Invel," Mother whispered, her breath hitching as she choked on her emotion. "You're humble and selfless and intelligent, so don't let anything that those rotten townspeople say take away from that!" She sobbed out, fast clutching onto me. I wished that I could believe her words, but they were too ideal.

"The girls in the dresses don't like me," I mumbled, although I didn't think that it was loud enough for my mother to hear. 

"The girls in the dresses don't _know_ you!" She retaliated, pulling out of the embrace to place her hands on my shoulders, and I could tell that she was staring me right in the eye. My mouth hung open in shock. There had been such fire in her voice; a fire that had never been there before. "Invel," Mother's voice was soft this time, but still firm. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I stayed silent, my mouth just slightly agape. Mother's grip stayed tight on my upper arms, and I could hear her bated breaths as she awaited my reply. Letting my creased features smooth over, I smiled up at mother in content.

"I will continue to be the me you know, although 'me' will be someone that I like," I replied softly, and mother's grip alleviated. She pulled me closer to her for another hug, but it was it was much more gentle than the one previous. After a moment, we both stood up, and she took my hand in hers.

"Come on, Invel," She spoke, serenity laced into her words. "The sky's getting dark. We should get back home." I nodded and we set off back towards the town, a comfortable silence between us.

And that's when everything went wrong.

Looking back on it, all the signs were there. Usually, after the town held a bonfire, sharp calls would ring out from the streets as people hailed for buckets of water to douse the flames. Instead, there were just the slurs and catcalls of drunken men seeking a partner for the night. They didn't notice.

Mother would've noticed. If she hadn't been with me, it wouldn't have happened. It was my fault. I should've just pretended that it was okay.

However, I was stupid.

One step into the town square, and blazes bit at my feet. Mother gasped, then burst into a fit of erratic coughs. I felt her delicate hand forming a protective muzzle over my mouth before I could ask what was wrong with her, why she was coughing, why a searing pain was encircling my legs. The anxiety was prickling the back of my eyes, or was that something else? I didn't know. All I knew was that mother's hands were quivering and she was scared, no matter how firm she tried to keep her voice as she crouched down to my height and fed me instructions.

"Invel," She choked out, her soft fingertips becoming painful daggers of desperation in the small of my back. They stabbed through the thin cotton of my shirt and pressed deeply into my flesh, bringing me to attention. "I need you to-" A cough broke off mother's raspy voice, and she wheezed for a second or two before struggling out a broken demand. "I need you to run back to the forest. I need to get the townspeople out!"

"I don't understand!" My strained voice came out with a hint of a wail hidden in its tone. "Why do you need to get them out? What's happening?" Tears were glassing over my eyes then, making my vision even worse by the second. 

"Invel, your legs!" Mother exclaimed in horror, and I could hear the pain in her tone. Yet again, I caused her pain. "Just go!" 

"But-"

_"Go!"_

I'd never heard mother scream the way she did then, and it instilled a fear in me that had never been there before. My legs shook, even as I ran, but I could still feel pain shooting through them. As I got further and further away from the centre of the town, mother's desperate cries got fainter and fainter, until suddenly they were snuffed out completely.

Teeth gritted and tears frighteningly close to falling, I collapsed onto a soft bed of grass. I was in the forest - or at least I hoped I was - and the adrenaline faded as I lay near the base of a tree, my chest heaving. My hair was splayed out around me as I stared up at the green haze above me.

"Huh?" A soft voice sounded from a space not too far away from me. My back automatically jolted up at the sound, although I sensed no danger. The voice was reminiscent of my mother's, but with a more masculine edge. A young man, most likely.

"Uh, I'm... I'm-" Shivers tingled down my spine and I gulped. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that this was private land!" My attempt to stand failed as my legs buckled beneath me. Again, the voice appeared in the air, but with more than a hint of mirth entwined into its tone.

A chuckle. "It's not."

"It's... Not?" I squeaked, then felt my face flush at how pathetic I sounded. 

"No, this isn't private land - it's a forest," The man's words were so laden with kindness, I couldn't help but shuffle closer to their source. "What happened to your legs?" A cool, smooth fingertip brushed over my ankle, and I flinched backwards in shock. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

**I shouldn't do this again, not after last time.**

"I-it's not that, I just..." I trailed off, my thoughts wavering and unsure.

_I only hurt people._

**But I can't just turn him away.**

"Just what?" The smile in the man's voice was evident, but that just made it harder for me to speak; to breathe, even.

_I shouldn't hurt this man too._

**He's only a boy.**

"I... Wasn't expecting you there," I explained, then instantly blushed again.

_That made no sense. I'm an idiot. He'll hate me._

A gentle tinkling of laughter floated to my ears, and I gasped at the melody.

**Yet more innocence for me to destroy. I should just leave him.**

"Can you not see very well?" His voice was so clear and held no malice. It was strange, but I longed to hear it more.

"No," I replied, shifting closer to the man. "It's all blurry." There was a warm and comforting aura surrounding this man, and all I wanted was to be close to him.

_But he's so kind to me..._

**But he's so vulnerable by himself.**

"Would these help?" The warmth extended to my face and something slim and cold slid neatly onto my nose. "They're glasses, do you like them?" A short exclamation left my lips and I slapped my hands over my eyes. Laughter. "Here, that's not what you're supposed to do." My hands were gently peeled away from my face by another, more slender, pair and I was suddenly met by two pools of... Black, I suppose. But they seemed so much more than black; they were...

_Beautiful._

My view expanded, and I saw a pale face. Set neatly in the middle was a thin nose, and the edges of the lips were curled upwards. Black locks framed his face, one particular strand reaching down further than most to brush lightly against the top of his nose.

**He seems happy.**

I could feel that my eyes were wide in wonder, but I could also feel a familiar sensation. My throat was clogging up, my vision was blurry again.

"Th-" At last, emotion overwhelmed my system and I flung my thin arms around the man's shoulders.  _"Thank you!"_  Tears that once only rimmed my eyelids rolled freely down my cheeks, sobs racking my body. Beneath my arms, I could feel that the man's shoulders had gone ridged in surprise, but they softened after a few seconds.

_He's so warm._

**He's so cold.**

_I shouldn't do this._

**I can't stay with him too long.**

_But..._

**Even so...**

**_I want to stay this way, for just a little while longer at least._ **

**_I don't want to leave._ **

**_I want to stay with him._ **


End file.
